


You're Welcome, Saukerl

by a_simple_woman



Category: The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
Genre: Character Death Fix, F/M, First Kiss, One Shot, Rudy doesn't die, liesel and rudy oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-26 18:29:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18722560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_simple_woman/pseuds/a_simple_woman
Summary: Liesel and Rudy finally kiss, literally that's it. That's all any of us want.Set when they're older in an AU where bombs never fell on Himmel Street.





	You're Welcome, Saukerl

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, so this is my first fan fiction ever, so please be nice if it sucks. I don't write kiss scenes much, because let's be real, it embarrasses me. But the only way to get better is to practice, so here this is.  
> The Book Thief fandom is deprived of Liesel/Rudy fan fiction and I'm a writer so I thought I'd contribute my skills.

The German sun was not typically one of great intensity, but the way it bathed Himmel Street in a hazy orange glow said otherwise. The war still raged around them, yet life on this poverty-stricken street in Mochling continued on with as much a sense of normalcy as it could, even as evidence of the destruction was everywhere you looked. The people were gaunt and hungry, with sunken in eyes and jutting cheekbones. Stores were going out of business left and right, but some, like Alex Steiner’s tailor shop, miraculously managed to hang on. The next street over had been bombed back in ’43, and the rubble had yet to be completely cleaned up, leaving Himmel Street a rocky and almost unusable road, but still the residents of the small, but resilient community pressed on.

Heaven was not a fitting name for such a stricken little street. At least not to the outside observer, or frankly most of the residents themselves. But to the skinny, grimy teenaged girl standing at the end of the street with a washbag thrown over her shoulder, it was.

The girl was one Liesel Meminger, the girl who had evaded Death three times. Her skin was slightly tanner than usual from the summer sun, with crops of light freckles popping up in unexpected places, like her knees and elbows, but sparsely her face. Those prominent freckles that splashed across the bridge of one’s nose belonged to her best, most idiotic friend, Rudy Steiner. Liesel’s hair was dirty blond, not quite German blond, but close enough, and pulled back into a scraggly braid. Grown out bangs fell in front of her eyes, the result of an awful prank of Rudy’s last winter. She’d never admit it to him, but they actually framed her face nicely. Her eyes were dark, dark brown, and in her thin face, they seemed to bug out of her skull and stare into your soul.

To put it bluntly, Liesel was not the most beautiful, yet she was not the ugliest. Perhaps proper nutrition and hygiene would have made her lovely, though it is difficult to know. Liesel was practical, and though questioning the government of her country, she understood that wartime was no time for beauty.

“Hey, _Saumensch_!” came a voice from behind Liesel.

Before she even turned around, a smile began tugging at her lips.

“Hey to you, _Saukerl!”_ Liesel called back as she turned around to face Rudy Steiner, the one boy she’d never have to try to be beautiful for, though she didn’t know it yet.

Rudy had somehow managed to grow taller than her in the past year. They’d always been the same height and the sudden way he seemed to tower over her made Liesel feel…strange. For a girl of many words, she had none to describe that feeling.

The light of the low afternoon sun reflected off of Rudy’s lemon colored hair, making it shine like a beacon. His sweet, but handsome, face was spread the wide smile he always greeted Liesel with.

 

*****A Note From Your Narrator*****

**He did not greet everyone with that smile.**

 

“What’re you doing, just standing there like even more of a _Saumensch_ than usual?” Rudy took the low blow at Liesel’s daydreaming habit, of course.

“I’m thinking, not that you’d know what that is like.” And of course, Liesel did not take the moral high ground either.

Rudy laughed, a sound that Liesel had been hearing for five years, but it never ceased to amaze her how absolutely carefree he sounded.

The pair started up Himmel Street, avoiding the chunks of rubble and chatting about the things best friends chat about. The kind of things that were immensely funny at the time, but could never be recalled again. They belonged in that moment, so there they stayed. Liesel and Rudy passed by a game of street soccer, and Rudy would be lying if he wasn’t tempted to jump in, but right now he was with Liesel and soccer could always be played.

They finally arrived at Liesel’s residence, the Hubermann’s home. Rudy stayed on the sidewalk while Liesel opened the gate and walked up the stairs, lugging the empty washbag over her shoulder. Just as she opened the door, Rosa Hubermann’s voice rang from inside the house.

“Stay outside!” she shouted, and Liesel nearly jumped out of her skin. “I’m cleaning the floors! Drop the washbag outside, _Saumensch_ and keep out!”

Liesel closed the door, rattled, and dropped the washbag unceremoniously by the front door.

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph,” Rudy exclaimed. “That mama of yours sure does have a strong set of lungs!”

Liesel nodded wordlessly.

Rudy shoved his hands into his pockets. “So…if you can’t go home, were do you wanna go?” he asked, a devilish smirk on his face. “Somewhere secluded maybe, so we can-“

_“Saukerl!”_

 

Liesel and Rudy did in fact end up in a somewhat secluded spot.

Naturally, Rudy’s house was too crowded, the square had lost all novelty at that point and Liesel wasn’t exactly feeling street soccer today.

So, there they were, laying in the grass on the banks of the very river Viktor Chemmel threw _The Whistler_ in when they were younger. Except now it wasn’t freezing. The summer had been kind, warming the river and the air around it.

Liesel, on her back next to Rudy, seemed perfectly content to lay there with her shoes off and her eyes closed for the rest of time. The sun warmed her skin and she could practically feel herself getting a tan Hitler wouldn’t approve off. She’d pulled her hair out of the braid, letting it fan out behind her, and swept her bangs off of her forehead.

Rudy, on the other hand, was not as content as Liesel was. He was hyperaware of Liesel next to him, though Liesel next to him was never a bad thing, it could surely be torturous sometimes. Especially when she was like this. So devastatingly beautiful Rudy thought he might combust if he didn’t kiss her. And on the bank of the river he’d asked for a one while standing waist deep in the freezing water. In that moment, Rudy was convinced that someone was just trying to make his life hard (among other things).

Meanwhile, Liesel was dosing sprawled out in the grass, unaware of the discomfort she was causing her best friend. She was also unaware of Rudy’s evil plan to dump her in the river. You see, Rudy was the kind of person who couldn’t just sit around and bear discomfort. He had to do something about it. And in his immature teenage boy brain, the way to stop thinking about how he was in love with his best friend was to dunk her in the river.

Suddenly, Liesel was ripped out of her sleepy state by Rudy holding her bridal style in his arms. A surprised screech escaped her mouth, immediately followed by one of protest once she realized what Rudy was about to do.

“No, Rudy! No, you _Saukerl_!” she shouted, wiggling around to escape Rudy’s grasp, but he held onto her tight. She didn’t know getting taller also meant getting stronger, too. At that thought, she felt an odd twist in the pit of her stomach.

Liesel didn’t have time to dwell on it, because next thing she knew, she was about to be let go into the warm water. But she wasn’t going down without a fight.

“You’re coming with me, _Saukerl!”_

She grabbed the front of Rudy’s shirt and they both tumbled into the river, a mess of tangled limbs and clothes.

Rudy emerged from the water first, sweeping his wet hair out of his eyes and laughing hysterically. Liesel came up a moment later, gasping and furiously wiping water out of her eyes. The sight of her, drenched head to toe with her blond hair plastered to her face, just made Rudy laugh harder.

“You look like a drowned rat!” he howled.

“Then you look like a drowned pig!”

Liesel threw the first swipe at Rudy’s head, so it was only fair the Rudy fight back with the intent to win. They shouted and laughed as they roughhoused in the water, almost like they were ten again. Rudy dunked Liesel’s head under for thirty whole seconds, so Liesel relentlessly splashed him in retaliation. Liesel yanked on Rudy’s hair, so Rudy pinched her arm hard. They fought with no intention of seriously injuring each other, but neither had any intention of losing, either.

After ten minutes of merciless, hand-to-hand combat, Rudy succumbed to his book thief and let her pin him down against the muddy bank.

With that simple motion, the whole mood changed. Instead of childish fighting, this was something more.

Rudy looked up at Liesel, his heart beating out of his chest. She was pressed flush against him and her soaked dress clung to every subtle curve of her body. Something in her eyes darkened as she held his wrists above his head, sending a shock through Rudy’s entire body. He felt helpless, completely and totally powerless, but in a good way. He was barely aware of his backside sinking into the mud and the fact they were out in the open. All he could do was stare at Liesel’s face, his book thief, and desperately try to decipher what she was thinking.

In all actuality, Liesel wasn’t thinking much of anything. For once in her life, her brain had gone completely blank and her heart took over. She never wanted to move. She wanted to pressed up against her best friend’s firm chest, staring down at his face, forever and ever and ever. His lemon colored hair had flopped into his bright blue eyes and his lips were parted slightly. The way he looked at her, God, she thought she might scream. Had he always looked at her like that?

 

*****A Second Note From Your Narrator*****

**Yes. Every day since he met her.**

 

“How about a kiss, _Saumensch_?”

The little air between them stood still.

Rudy mentally kicked himself and Liesel froze, thoughts raced through her mind.

 

_He’s not joking this time._

_He’s not joking._

_…_

_Was he_ ever _joking?_

*****A Third Note From Your Narrator*****

**He had never been joking.**

“Liesel, I’m so sor-“

Fireworks.

Liesel pressed her lips against Rudy’s tenderly, but with an urgency. Years of tension were released in the kiss. She attacked him with years and years of wanting and suppressed feelings. He was so soft, so warm and inviting. A low gasp escaped his mouth and Liesel couldn’t help but smile into the kiss. He kissed her back firmly, winding his now free hands into her wet hair and pulling her closer. Liesel squealed and responded just as enthusiastically. Her hands gripped his shoulders and she moved her lips furiously against his. She couldn’t help the roll of her hips when Rudy swiped his tongue along her bottom lip.

_God_ , Liesel was in a complete state of bliss. If she’d known this is what she was missing out on, she would have given Rudy his long-awaited kiss ages ago.

“Liesel,” Rudy groaned, coming up for air. It almost overwhelmed him, how heartbreakingly beautiful she looked above him, kissing his brains out. God, it was the first kiss and he was already addicted.

“Rudy,” she answered and kissed him again

Suddenly, overcome by hunger, Rudy flipped them over in a single motion so he was on top of her. Liesel moaned in delight, clinging to Rudy like he was the only thing anchoring her to the Earth. One of Rudy’s hands braced kept him from crushing Liesel, but the other held her waist tightly. Liesel bucked her hips again and hooked her leg around Rudy’s waist. She wanted him closer, closer than ever before.

Rudy was happy to comply with Liesel’s eagerness, and every movement of her hips sent him to heaven. He wanted to slip a hand under her dress right there on the bank of the river, and his nether regions certainly agreed. But his conscious knew better, and he loved her too much to do anything she might not want, despite the frantic bucking of her hips against his.

“Liesel,” he pulled away and nestled his face into the crook of her neck, gasping out her name.

Liesel couldn’t answer, she was too out of breath. Her whole body was lit aflame. She uncurled her fingers from Rudy’s wet shirt and smoothed his hair way from his face. She smiled up at him and he smiled back.

“You’re welcome, _Saukerl_.”

 The sun was down when Liesel finally made it home. To be fair, she and Rudy hadn’t exactly hurried home. They dawdled through the town with their fingers loosely interlocked, faces burning the moment anyone looked at them. Or at least Liesel’s face burned. Rudy, on the other hand, wore the proudest expression anyone had ever seen on his face.

 

*****A Final Note From Your Narrator*****

**Rudy Steiner was indeed the proudest boy on Himmel Street that day.**

 

Liesel closed the door and made her way into the kitchen, a dopey smile still spread across her face.

Rosa Hubermann was sitting at the table, a look on her face like she knew something. Liesel’s stomach dropped. She couldn’t know…could she?

“So, I’ve heard that you’ve been kissing up on that filthy Steiner boy next door?”

“Mama, I-“

Rosa put her hand up to silence her daughter.

“You didn’t let me finish.”

Liesel gnawed on her lip nervously.

“Well, I’ll say it’s about damn time.”


End file.
